Queen Elizabeth II "dies peacefully" at Balmoral

Date published: 08 September 2022

After more than 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II has sadly died this afternoon (Thursday 8 September) at the age of 96.

The palace released a statement this evening saying that: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Concerns for the Queen’s health were first raised earlier today when Buckingham Palace released a statement saying her doctors were concerned for her health and recommended she remain under medical supervision.

The initial statement came from Buckingham Palace during Her Majesty’s annual summer visit to Balmoral, but many had been concerned for the monarch in the months after Prince Philip’s death in April 2021.

During her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip made three visits to the Rochdale borough.

Their first visit came in 1954 as part of their Lancashire tour. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Rochdale to welcome the Royals as part of their two-day tour of Lancashire.

The Royal procession made its way through Firgrove and towards the town centre, arriving at the Town Hall where the Mayor and other civic dignitaries welcomed them. The procession then proceeded along the Esplanade before turning up Manchester Road to make its way back to Rochdale's railway station where the Royal Train awaited.

In 1971, the Queen arrived in Milnrow to oversee the completion of the cross-border section of the motorway between Milnrow and Outlane, near Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire.

She unveiled two plaques which were later mounted onto markers at the Lancashire-Yorkshire border. The markers were granted historic listing status for her Platinum Jubilee.
 

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Her last visit to Rochdale came in 1994, during the 150th celebrations of the co-operation movement. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip officially opened the Arts and Heritage Centre, which would later be renamed Touchstones.

Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne on 6 February 1952 when she was 25 years old. She married Prince Philip in 1947, five years before she would become Queen.

Together they had four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Their first son, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was born in 1948, followed by his sister, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, in 1950.

Their second son, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, was born in 1960 and their last child, the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, in 1964.

At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth II had ruled for over 70 years: in June 2022, she became the second-longest serving monarch in history, second only to French King Louis XIV.

In 2015, she became the longest-reigning British monarch – surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria – and the longest-reigning female monarch in world history.

She is succeeded by her son, King Charles III.

Queen Elizabeth visits Rochdale - 22 October 1954
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